Page 81 of The Witch and His Crow

This wasn’t a trial or test. This was reality, no matter how impossible and monstrous it was. Arwyn was many things, buthe was my coven foremost. I may not have wanted this, but by Hekate I had it now and I refused to turn my back on him.

The shadows hissed and spat, screamed, and roared. It was as if they were speaking to me, trying to claim Arwyn as theirs.

I looked into the eyeless dark and screamed, ‘he is mine.’

Mine. Mine. Mine.

‘Get out of here,’ Arwyn said, his voice weak and tired. ‘Go, Hector.’

‘Mine,’ I shouted again, at Arwyn and the demonic shadows. The tension against my hold lessened a little, allowing me to pull Arwyn closer to me. There was the crash of a door, heavy footsteps and then a familiar breathless voice from above.

‘Hekate, bless me,’ Romy prayed.

I dared look at her, dared remove my focus from keeping hold of Arwyn. Soon enough her arms were beneath my armpits, locking around my chest and anchoring her strength to mine. The added help made Arwyn slip closer to us.

‘They… won’t let… up,’ Romy groaned as she helped me. ‘Until we banish them back.’

I didn’t have the energy to say that not even Arwyn’s icy flame could harm these creatures. Nor did my power do anything but force them back for a moment. We were only protected in Eleanor’s blessed circle, and we didn’t have the luxury of that since I had just found out that we were trapped insidewiththem this time.

I threw out another blast of power, knocking the body of a small, twisted mass of flesh and fur, into the wall. A high-pitched yelp sounded, followed the thud of a broken body.

So, you can die.

They seemed to regroup at the death of one of their own. Even with the added help from Romy, they were winning. The demons worked to get a better grasp and pulled. Arwyn began to slip away. All the while we refused to break eye contact.

A trickle of warmth fell from my nose. If I had a spare hand to clear it, I’m sure it would’ve come back bloodied.

Exhaustion of a Gift was a witch’s greatest weakness.

When Romy spoke again, her voice was calm. Focused. ‘Together. Both of you, repeat after me.’

‘Don’t let him go,’ I warned her.

‘I won’t… but you have to try this. Hector, copy me.’ Then Romy began to sing. No, not sing. Chant. ‘In light thy burn, holy and cleansed. For darkness has no reign amongst friends.’

Romy’s voice cracked, but not from lack of confidence. It was as if her words split the air beyond her mouth, whipping it, sparking it,chargingit.

The demons hissed, their strength faltering. I blinked as a sudden light burst into the stairwell, as though rays of light cast down like spears piercing darkness made flesh. But it wasn’t enough.

‘Repeat it…’ Romy commanded. ‘Repeat it, both of you.’

Romy spoke the words out again, this time with more vigour. I felt the magic then, as though it had lingered in this air and was awoken by the rhyme.

‘In light thy burn, holy and cleansed. For darkness has no reign amongst friends.’

I repeated the words. The threads of light came thicker, faster. One would’ve thought it came from a budding sun, but the truth was far more confusing. Because the glow emanated from my mouth, casting a beam down into the shadows as if carried by the words.

‘In light thy burn, holy and cleansed. For darkness has no reign amongst friends. In light thy burn, holy and cleansed. For darkness has no reign amongst friends. In light thy burn, holy and cleansed. For darkness has no reign amongst friends.’

Even after we spoke the incantation, the stairway echoed with it. The light continued to make the demons retreat. Smokecurled from their flesh. Bodies fell. Creatures were forced back, peeling them off Arwyn until I could see the mess of his back. His shirt no longer covered him but lay over his skin like tattered wings.

If it weren’t for Romy, I would’ve lost myself to the damage. She was my strength, her chant giving me purpose and focus.

Old magic. It was here, thicker and stronger than it had been. Again, I heard the crack of stone as I cast out my final chant against the rune. Had it worked?

‘Caym,’I forced out down our bound. ‘Now would be the time to… help me.’

My familiar didn’t reply. And yet a part of me recognised that the message had been received, but he was unable to answer.

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